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1 (December 6, 2006)

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                                                                         Order Code RS20095
                                                                    Updated December 6, 2006





 CRS Report for Congress


                The Congressional Budget Process:
                                A Brief Overview

                                    James V. Saturno
                                Specialist on the Congress
                            Government and Finance Division


        Summary


             The term budget process, when applied to the federal government, actually refers
        to a number of processes that have evolved separately and that occur with varying
        degrees of coordination. This overview, and the accompanying flow chart, are intended
        to describe in brief each of the parts of the budget process that involve Congress, clarify
        the role played by each, and explain how they operate together. They include the
        President's budget submission, the budget resolution, reconciliation, sequestration,
        authorizations, and appropriations. This report will be updated to reflect any changes
        in the budget process.


            The Basic Framework. The Constitution grants the power of the purse to
        Congress,' but does not establish any specific procedure for the consideration of
        budgetary legislation. Instead, a number of laws and congressional rules contribute to the
        federal budget process, with two statutes in particular forming the basic framework.

            The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, as codified in Title 31 of the United States
        Code, established the statutory basis for an executive budget process by requiring the
        President to submit to Congress annually a proposed budget for the federal government.
        It also created the Bureau of the Budget (reorganized as the Office of Management and
        Budget (OMB) in 1970) to assist him in carrying out his responsibilities, and the General
        Accounting Office (GAO, renamed the Government Accountability Office in 2004) to
        assist Congress as the principal auditing agency of the federal government.

            The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-344, 88
        Stat. 297) established the statutory basis for a congressional budget process, and provided



        1 Article I, Section 8 provides that The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes,
        Duties, Imposts and Excises, and Section 9 provides that No Money shall be drawn from the
        Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.

                  Congressional Research Service    The Library of Congress
                        Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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